Holiday Engagement (2011)

Really Surprised!

Admirable film.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Late in the year, Hollywood and the major TV networks begin cranking out movies for the holiday season. But well before the end of the last century, all the Christmas plots imaginable had been done. Some real Christmas movies - but not very many, have been made since the late 20th century. They have themes of charity, giving, family reunions, love, reconciliations, and yes, sometimes romance. But by and large, the output that is labeled Christmas or holiday films in the 21st century is no more than comedy-romance or even drama that happens around the holidays. Such is this 2011 Hallmark channel film, "Holiday Engagement." It takes place around Thanksgiving and that makes it a holiday film. Just about every imaginable plot has been made into one of these films, which makes them commonplace. So, the only thing that sets one off usually is the characters as played by the cast. This film has some fine, better than normal performances by three of the cast. But it also has just enough of a different twist in the plot to hold one's interest. The lead, Hillary Burns (played by Bonnie Somerville) gets dumped by her fiancé just before going home for Thanksgiving. She hires an actor to play his part, rather than disappoint her mother. There's much more at play here in the family, and this is far out. But the leading cast make it work as a gentle comedy romance and mild family drama. Hillary's role is OK - her crying and sad scenes with her mother and before that are not very realistic. The six stars for this film are due mostly to her parents, with some extra credit for her hired fiancé. Shelley Long is very good as Hillary's mother, Meredith Burns; and Sam McMurray is very good as her father, Roy Burns. Finally, Jordan Bridges is very good as David, the actor whom she hires to stand in as her fiancé. He is the son of Beau Bridges and grandson of Lloyd Bridges. Of course, everyone knows where this story will go right away. As with all such the films, the fun (or lack thereof) is in the details of how the story gets to the end. This one is watchable but not special to run out and buy.The funniest line in the movie happens after Roy's effort to deep fat fry the turkey fails. The outdoor cooker he has rigged ejects the turkey. So, the family heads for a Mexican restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. Meredith hands her water glass to the waiter and says, "Oh, um, I asked for seltzer. This looks like tap water with cheese floating in it."

This story is very predictable and unfortunately not that well done. There are however some good moments.Who did the lighting? It was horrendous. I don't know how many scenes there were where faces were poorly lit. In at least one, an entire face was difficult to see at all and in several scenes partial faces were badly shadowed. In one scene the youngest sister looked like her lip was bleeding or lipstick badly smudged.Shelly Long started out horrible. Part of this was intentional, but to me she overplayed it. And she looked bad. She got a little better as the film went on.There were some attempts at humor, many of which were ridiculous situations like Thanksgiving at the Mexican restaurant. To me most of them were barely funny and some were kind of funny.***SPOILERS*** Bonnie Somerville and Jordan Bridges did not sell the story that justified Hillary ending up with David. Part of that was the story and that they didn't have enough screen time. David had barely admitted he was over Lindsay, and Hillary had barely decided she hated Jason and the next thing, Hillary and David are professing love for one another.I loved when Bonnie Somerville sang with Bridges. Bridges wasn't great but Somerville was. And it was romantic.The final montage at the church and after was nice and also romantic.

I enjoyed this movie, pretty much all Actors gave it their best! It didn't feel a full-on festive type Christmas movie though, felt more like it was about the main character and her road to figuring out what she wanted from life. Also, while both of the main cast, Bonnie Somerville and Jordan Bridges did really well in their roles (albeit Bonnie Somerville was a little wooden at times)I never felt a whole lot of chemistry between them...usually in movies like this you can pretty much predict that the two will fall in love throughout and get together in the end...and I don't mind those movies, most live for happy endings! I just didn't feel much chemistry between them at all and I've watched my fair share of chic flick/romcoms, even holiday romance ones, but this....felt more of a comedy type than romance. Was still enjoyable to watch though, so that's why it still gets a 6/10

Hillary (Bonnie Somerville) is finally looking forward to a Thanksgiving dinner at her demanding mother Meredith's house (Shelley Long). You see, this thirty something, newspaper writer has finally found a great catch named Jason to bring home! Jason is an up and coming attorney, good-looking, and smart; Meredith should be happy. Yet, a couple of days before the occasion, Jason dumps Hillary! He has been offered a promotion in Pittsburgh, away from the East Coast where her family lives, and she has been dragging her feet about a move. Then, too, with Hillary talking about children while Jason is trying to concentrate on torts, the break-up seems inevitable. But, Holy Fiancé, Batman, what will Hill tell Mom? She won't! With a friend's help, Hillary HIRES an actor, David (Jordan Bridges) to play Jason's role, with the promise of airline tickets Hill won in a contest. Naturally, David has to cram to get the details right, for his last job was being a costumed cell phone! Yet, when they make it to Meredith's house, all goes initially well. David/Jason charms Meredith and gets along well with Dad and Hill's sisters (one is Hayley Duff). But, small quirks do burst forth. David and Hill never seem too "kissy kissy", causing some concern, and David makes a few small mistakes in his new role. To complicate things even more, the REAL Jason comes calling on the day of the actual holiday. What a fine mess you've got us into, Hill! This is an engaging romantic comedy that genre fans will like. Yes, its a tried and true plot but its still great fun. Somerville, Bridges and Long make a great trio, while the supporting actors are nice as well. The production also looks good, with nice sets, costumes, and art direction, along with a steady pace of direction. Nuf said, for fans, so if you are on of those, hustle to the place where you grab DVDs.